Tomb Raider 'The Empire of the Amon'
by Ikobe
Summary: An ancient civilization hidden for millennia, capable of destroying the world... a madman in charge of the world's biggest industrial company... and a Tomb Raider with her friends... all ten chapters up now, so enjoy the finished product!
1. The Amon, The Madman and the Raider

Lara Croft : Tomb Raider - 'The Empire of the Amon'  
  
Author's Notes: Of course, I don't own Lara or anyone (though I wouldn't mind owning Bryce ^_^), they are all © Core/Eidos/Time Warner Cinema/whoever is responsible for owning them.  
  
Chapter One: The Amon, The Madman and The Raider  
  
Imagine Russia. Imagine Russia, 8,500 years ago. You are in the centre city of the Amon, a civilization with so much wisdom it's unbelievable. Inside the cursed walls and trap-set temples, the key of all human knowledge lies. The meaning of life, the ability to make weapons which make napalm gas look like mere oxygen. The ability to destroy the world... and create another. However, these secrets were guarded profusely. Enemies came, enemies were slaughtered by the thousand. So powerful, they thought nobody could beat them. No one person could destroy them. Yet one force could. Nature itself caputred and overthrew the Amon. However, the people were prepared. Using their divine superior genius, they buried the centre city, Hraka-Amon, deep in time and space. The only way to revive the temple-opolis was to use a rune tablet, a Key hidden deep in Russia's core. And so, as the rest of the Amonic Empire fell under ice, fire, wind and water, Hraka-Amon was safe. The Amonic people themselves were all killed, even the ones in the Hraka- Amon. But it was for an honest and worthwhile cause. The secret of the Amon became legend, the legend became myth, and the Key to the Hraka-Amon was lost; it was safe.  
  
Now, we're back in the 21st century, and the world's in upheaval, as the worldwide corporation Solaris Industries churns up the Russian wastelands. The man responsible for all this? The boss. Not quite middle-aged, power hungry... they all say he's gone mad. Turning up in St. Petersburg Square with an dozen army-like JCBs and a colony of workers. Thousands of acres of land destroyed in days, and yet the Key is still not found. His name? Jeremy Squires, born into an industrial bourgeois and a madly entrpeneurial family. As his bank balance and power grew, so did his interest for antiquities. On several occasions he had tried to buy Abu Simbel and Angkor Wat.  
  
Thousands of miles away, Lara Croft was listening to a newcaster on the radio explaining the insanity in Russia as she hung bare inches from the metallic jaws of SIMON. Outside, Bryce was watching with an amused smirk. "Let's see her get out of this one," he muttered, biting a nail subconsciously. Within seconds, his dream was crushed and Lara was sitting on top of the android, taunting it to behead itself, which caused it to malfunction, overheat, and as always, blow up in a mess of sparks. "God damnit!" Bryce yelled, smashing the keyboard up badly on one side with his fist. "My robot! Lara!" He ran from his desk right into the middle of the simulated Asian ruins and crouched down by his beloved bot. "Lara, you said you weren't going to kill him this time!" he whined, surveying the damage with a grieving look in his face. "Sorry, Bryce," she said calmly, smirking grimly. "Oh well. Couple of days and I'll have 'im up and running again." He patted the android on its head shell, which caused it to spring off and hit a wall twenty feet away. Lara raised her eyebrows and sighed hopelessly. "Ah, Lara, a mister Alex West for you on the telephone," Hillary said as she left the training room. "What does the bloody..." She trailed off and picked up the phone. "Alex?" "Lara? Why the hell aren't you in Russia?" Her eyes narrowed as the irate American whined on the phone. "Is that a personal request, West?" Bryce folded his arms and glared at Lara. "I know you hate working with me, but if this Solaris Industries gets hold of the Key of the Amon, then-" "Yes, I know. Apocalypse, etcetera. Hm... well, I haven't been to Russia in a long while... alright then. I'll be there as soon as I can." She put the phone down abruptly and walked off to her bedroom hastily. "Hillary, I trust you'll keep the Manor tidy while we're gone?" Hillary looked puzzled. "'We', Lara?" "Yes, 'we'. Bryce, you're coming too." "What?" he cried hysterically. "I thought you said that since we did the whole Triangle-" "Alright then, I'll go without you." "No, no, I'll come!" "Then be ready in an hour."  
  
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Okay, so it's not too amazing a start, but it's a start nontheless! Hm... I'll do a bit more if I get a couple of reviews... one review... someone reading it other than myself... ^_^ Also, I only have a brief idea of the Amon Temples... I was going for a kind of Aztec/Mayan feel, just colder... so some idea for that would also be welcomed. 


	2. Between Hackers and Raiders

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - 'The Empire of the Amon'  
  
Chapter Two: Between Hackers and Raiders  
  
"Bloody hell." St. Petersbur Square was empty. "West said he'd meet us here," Lara called over to Bryce, who was standing in the middle of the square carrying what little luggage Lara had bothered to pack. "Shouldn't it be... a little busier?" he asked inquisitively. Before Lara could answer, Alex was running across the Square. "Speak of the devil," she sighed. "Lara!" "Er... Alex...?" "Mm-hm?" "Where is everyone?" He shrugged and kicked at the light snow at his feet. "I found some files on Solaris, but I can't access them. Can your hack do it?" Bryce wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Feel free to ask him," he yelled irately. Lara put a hand to her temples for a moment. "Okay... Bryce... just... do what he says... we've got to find that Key." Bryce folded his arms and smirked. "I know, he's a complete-" She stopped midsentence when she realised how loud she was talking. "Please, Bryce?" The dark haired man sighed and nodded dutifully. "Thank you." She turned round and whacked Alex on the back to signal they were moving, which made him jolt. "Show Bryce the stuff, then meet me at the rendez-vous point in half an hour." Alex nodded and signalled for Bryce to come over. "Oh, and West... be civil."  
  
"The files are stored on this disk, but there's some kind of firewall or something," Alex explained to Bryce, who was accustoming himself to the mobile unit. "Right... so... let's have a look..." he muttered, and sat back in his chair as it loaded. "Hm... what in bugger's...?" He leaned forward and gazed in at the screen. "This is... really weird. Blimey, I haven't seen anything like this... bloody hell..." Alex was getting impatient. "What?!" Bryce's eyes narrowed as he looked out the corner of his eye. "Nothing you'd understand." "Are you saying I'm stupid?" "No. But if you can hold a reasonable conversation with me about emulated syntax-" "I'll be quiet." "Thank you." Bryce turned back to the screen, hands hovering about the keyboard. "Eyup. It's... a riddle. The numbers represent letters. Kid's stuff." He moved out the way so West could look. Opening up a Notepad file, he translated it instantly.  
  
Pray tell us now these times of late Who is the one who seals their fate? The only one who could ever see The mystery of the Amon Key? The first is in angel, but not in saint The second, the first, in most cases we relate The third is last reversed in the new text of this land And the last is easy, but things are now getting out of hand...  
  
"Well, okay... the first can either be G, E or L... which doesn't really narrow it down much," Bryce muttered, foraging for a piece of paper and a pen, and writing the letters next to each other. "'The second, the first, in most cases we relate'? That doesn't make any sense!" Alex bawled, running a hand through his mess of straggled blonde hair. "The first... cases... ha! Of course! Upper case, lower case!" Alex looked puzzled. "It's the first letter of the alphabet, you imbecile!" Bryce sighed hopelessly and wrote in the new letter under the three original letters. Alex snorted, but read the next line of text on the screen. "'The third is last reversed in the new text of this land... well, that's easy enough, it's 'R'." Bryce looked at the piece of paper to see what was written down. "Okay, so we have 'GAR', 'LAR' and 'EAR'... next line... 'and the last is easy'..." The dark haired man stared unblinking into the screen. "They know... they know, it's all a trap..." he whispered hoarsely. Alex knew something was wrong. "Bryce...?" He shook the younger man gently to try and wake him from his trance. "Lara- get Lara, they're after Lara!" he yelled, trying to stand up but not finding the strength to. "What? What the hell do you mean?" Bryce covered his face with his hands for a second. "Solaris set the riddle to protect their files. The Amon Key can only be seen-" "By those pure of heart and intuity, that means that the people working for Solaris can't find it." Bryce shook his head in disbelief. "It's all a massive set-up. They did all this to lure you here, and then they knew you'd call Lara, and now they're... WEST! YOU IDIOT!" Bryce suddenly shot up and grabbed Alex by the front of his shirt, a futile look in his eyes. "Get your arse out of here and find Lara," he growled, his eyes narrowed and cat-like as he fumed. He let go of the blonde and sank back down into his chair. Just before Alex left, he stopped at the door. "You really care for her, don't you," he said greyly to the back of the chair. "Yeah. I do." Bryce replied coldly, face in his hands. Would Alex get there in time?  
  
Bleep bleep bleep. Bleep bleep bleep. Bryce opened his eyes and looked for where the noise was emergring. The blonde, in the fray, had left his mobile phone behind it. Cautiously, he picked it up and answered it. "Hello?" "Bryce?" "Lara! Thank the bloody Lord, are you okay?" "Yes, I'm fine, you seem spooked... where's Alex?" "Look, Lara, listen to me, you have to get away!" "What? Oh, hang on a minute, Bryce, there are some other people here." "No, Lara-" Suddenly, there was a gasp and a thud, and the phone was dropped. "LARA!" Bryce dropped the mobile as if it were made of fire and bolted out of the unit. There was still several snow-bikes left outside the mobile. "Come on, damnit, one of these has to have a key!" he scowled. At the end of the row of snow-bikes, there was a particularly bulky chrome number which happened to have the key half turned. "Thank you, God!" he muttered, before kicking the bike into action and racing up the JCB-crushed path. Eventually he reached a clearing which he assumed to be the rendez- vous point. The mobile phone lay in several pieces, surrounded by bloodstained snow. and ice-sludge. "Bugger!" he cursed, looking around for any sign of fresh tracks. He turned to get back on the bike and found himself face-to-nozzle with a gun. "Ah... afternoon, mate," he squeaked, before being hit soundly by the other end of the gun, causing him to fall to the ground in a bloody concussed heap.  
  
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Darnit, I hate hurting Bryce :P He turns out okay though, don't worry! 


	3. The Key

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - 'The Empire of the Amon'  
  
Author's Note: I don't own Nintendo, therefore I don't own GameBoy Advance SP (I actually don't own one!), or Mortal Kombat : Deadly Alliance... also don't own Lara any of the characters herein (apart from Solaris Ind's people, I guess). Still wish I owned Bryce ;)  
  
Chapter Three: The Key  
  
"Blimey..." Bryce whined, holding his head in agony. "Nice to see you've woken up," Lara said casually. "What the hell...?" Lara clung to the railings of her cell restlessly. "Don't try to play the hero, Bryce... that's my job," she continued, sounding partly concerned, a sympathetic tone in her voice. She smiled softly, before pacing the front wall of her cell. "Where exactly are we? And where's Alex?" Lara signalled for him to look behind him, and surely enough, in the shadows, Alex West was alseep. "Shot him in the arm with a bear tranquilizer," she said hopelessly. "Squires's hustlers put up a decent fight, that's all I can say. Eventually they beat me and when I woke up, I was here. West was brought in a few hours after me. Do you have any idea why they're keeping us captive?" Bryce nodded gravely. "It's because of the Key. When we were in the mobile unit... we found out that Solaris... Squires, whoever, they can't track down the Key. Only those pure of heart and intuity can find it. That's you, Lara. They knew that you wouldn't find it for them... and I think the story kind of explains itself from there," he explained, nursing the wound on the side of his head. Suddenly, Lara felt an idea forming in her head. "Bryce, Alex still has the tranquilizer dart, right?" The dark haired man peered into the shadows and saw the large dark in the blonde's arm. "Yep, why d'you ask?" Lara glaced down the end of the room. "Throw it over to me." "Lara, you've seen my aim." Lara sighed irately. "Alright... heads up!" He tossed the dart through the rails, and Lara caught it perfectly. She looked down the bars again, before throwing the dart at a panel on the wall, which raised the cell gates. "Lara, you're a bloody genius!" She dragged Alex into the dim light and looked at him properly. "He'll be no use for a good few hours, probably... might as well leave him here for now, nobody is going to come down for at least the night." Bryce nodded and followed the young woman out of the cell room into the cold Russian evening.  
  
No sooner had they left the building were they confronted by a balding man in a thick fur coat. "Ah... if it isn't Lady Lara Croft and her little hack friend." Bryce flung his arms out angrily. "For God's sake, people, what's with the 'hack' malarkey?" he cried desperately. The other man laughed dryly. "I believe that you know your purpose now, Croft." Lara smirked, her eyes glowing with futility. "If you think for even a second that I'm going to find the Key for you..." He laughed again, this time more sinister. "Ah, you see, dear Lara Croft, I don't think... I insist. If you do not, then I will have both of your little friends killed in an instant." She turned round, glanced at the building and then at Bryce, who just gave her a grim weak smile and shrugged. "Do what you think's right, Lara," he said, amazingly calmly. "Alright. I'll find your damn Key, Squires," she growled huskily, eyes shining with malice. Squires walked off, cackling, his slightly bulging stomach quaking. "Get searching, Croft!" he squarked, his two henchmen following silently. She sighed and crouched down in the snow, trying to hide her face. "What the hell have I done, Bryce?" she wailed pleadingly. He bit his lip and knelt down next to Lara. "Come on... you're stronger than this... anyway, you said you'd find the Key, you didn't say that you'd give it to him, right?" Bryce lifted her head up gently by her chin. "That's... that's right... Bryce, you're amazing sometimes." He smiled, kissed her gently on the forehead and helped her up. "Have I missed something?" Lara and Bryce turned to see a profusely tired looking Alex leaning against the doorframe, yawning groggily.  
  
"You're doing WHAT?" the American yelled at the young woman. "Alex, he was going to kill you and Bryce! I had no choice!" she spat back. Bryce suddenly remembered he had his GameBoy Advance SP in one of the pockets of his jacket, so took it out and played Mortal Kombat whilst Lara and Alex argued. They were about to launch into another bout of flaming, but were stopped by Bryce interrupting them with a loud yell of, "FINISH HIM!" They both glared at him, eyebrows raised. "What!? We're not going to get anywhere with you two having a bitchfight, are we?" Alex closed his eyes, admitting defeat. "He's right. Come on, let's find this goddamn Key and destroy it before Squires gets his greasy paws on it." Lara nodded in reply, and went to say something, but once again was interrupted by Bryce. "Bugger! Damn you, Kung Lao!" The young woman walked over and prised the handheld console from Bryce's grip and switched it off, before handing it back to him. "Don't mean to interrupt your little brawl there, but we have a world to save," she quipped casually, smiling. "You heard the lady, hack- ass, let's roll." Bryce laughed sarcastically. "West, you're hilarious! No, wait, let me think about that, no, you're not bloody funny at all!" he fumed, storming after the two Raiders, pocketing his chrome GBA:SP.  
  
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It's not very long... or good... at all, but I need fillage ;) Oh, and in case you're wondering, Squires is half American, half Australian ^_^ Not that you were wondering... yeah... shutting up now *grins* 


	4. Flights of Fancy

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - 'The Empire of the Amon'  
Author's Note: Time for a little more fillage... and stuff...  
Chapter Four: Flights of Fancy  
The Amonic Empire's every move was predicted and plotted by the priests, the Uzubek. Their knowledge extended further than anyone. They were the ones who kept the faith and made the land prosperous. They were the ones who had forseen, many years before, that a King would appear from the sky and rule over the world's greatest empire. They travelled for many years, learning all they could until they could search no more, and still, they did not find their fallen King. Until one cold night, when they took shelter in a cave from a raging storm, they could hear the wails of a tiny child amidst the downpour. Looking out, they saw a baby wrapped up in rags hanging from a tree branch. Their Messiah had arrived. Returning to their homelands with the King, they taught him in the faith of the Sky Gods, and in turn, he created a people so advanced it was like nothing anyone could ever imagine. However, the Uzubek were limited to their power as the King insisted they helped only with the records and defending the provinces. In secret, many formed an alliance, the Buruka, the "Earth Gods". Using their knowledge and ability of foresight they planned the demise and upheaval of the country, but their plan was shattered by the few remaining faithful priests. These priests then locked away all knowledge in a Key, that would be invisible to everyone who wanted it for their own, or their master's use. Only those who were pure of heart and soul would ever find it. They cast away the Key, and the province fell to ruins. Mother Nature reigned again for many millennia. However, in this Key, the good priests had sealed away the perfect image of the Hraka-Amon, the temple city. The people died, the land disappeared forever apart from the glimpse of the once-godlike empire in the Key.  
  
Squires was a mad man, and a rich one at that. However, for decades the puzzle of the Key baffled him. He had searched all the records, dug secretly wherever he could, and still no sign of the key. When he came across the last script made by the creators of the Key, he was infuriated, and devised a plan to get it. Whilst in his delving into archaeology and antiquities, he heard many tales of the high-risk, high-stakes archaeologists and historians, the "Tomb Raiders". The two most famous were Lady Lara Croft, daughter of the Illuminated Lord Richard Henshingly Croft, and the American historian Alexander West. He read of their adventures constantly, and within time found a weak spot. It was not hard to miss that West was infatuated with Lara. His plan? To entice West by pulling off a huge stunt, to dig up the wastelands of Russia. He knew this would draw Alex, who would instantaneously bring Lara right into his trap. Knowing that Lara's techie friend Bryce would come, he purposely set up files which would create interest, delaying any action to rescue Croft. And if she still refused to find the Key? Kill them all. Lara was so much alone already, this would have been the final blow. There would be no choice.  
  
"So... how exactly... do we find this Key? Do we... know what it... looks like?" Alex asked, still recovering from the animal tranquilizer. "Well, technically, 'we' can't find the Key. It's invisible to everyone except Lara." Alex snorted distastefully in reply. Bryce was playing with a click- pen in the mobile unit. Lara was standing outside, solemn and still, the icy breeze whipping a few threads of hair about. Alex opened the door and leaned against the mobile unit next to her. "You okay, Lara?" She blinked and turned, a little dazed. "Oh... yes." He reached for her hand and put it in his own and gave her a grim weak smile. "There's no point hiding it, Lara. You're bothered by something." She tried to pull her hand free from out of Alex's. "Yes, you touching me," she sniped, snatching it back. Alex rolled his eyes and sighed angrily. "Okay. Fine. Don't tell me. Just don't come running to me when everything falls," he snapped, and stormed back into the mobile unit. Bryce was still playing with the click-pen. "Oo... lover's tiff," he squeaked, smiling slyly. He couldn't help it, but he genuinely loved it when Alex and Lara had an argument. There was just something so irritating about him... was it his accent? No, he knew a load of people with the same American accent. Came with the techie label. No, it was something else. Ah, yes, that's it, Bryce, mate. You don't admit it, though, do you? No... you're jealous of him, aren't you! Of course, it all makes sense now, doesn't it... Bryce was fighting against the voices in his head, crushing the pen in his grip and breaking it in two. He let go and picked the pieces of shattered plastic out of his hand, which stung more than he'd first realised. "Bugger. That was a decent pen, too." Alex was staring out the window at Lara, who was looking, unbliking, into the north. "D'you know what's up with her?" The dark haired man swung round in his chair to face the blonde. "That's just Lara. It's her way. When she gets upset she shuts the world out. Always has, probably always will. End of story." Alex sat against the wall and hugged his knees. "Okay, so why should she be upset?" Bryce happened to find another click-pen and began playing with that as he talked to West. "I dunno, mate. Maybe it's 'cause of the fact that she was tricked into coming here, and then she got beaten by Squires' men, and she's being forced to find the Key for him. Sounds bloody upsetting enough. And this is Lara. She hates being beaten. She hates weakness altogether, even though it's something she can't forget."  
  
"How much d'you fancy Lara?" Bryce asked after about fifteen minutes of silence. "What?" Alex looked up, confused. "How much do you fancy Lara? Fess up, mate." Alex shook his head. "I don't think that's really for me to say." Bryce scoffed a laugh. "What's so funny?" Bryce smiled matter-of- factly. "You, you obsolete muffin! You're head over bloody heels for her. Why don't you tell her?" The blonde stared up at the younger man in the swivel chair. "What's the damn point? You said yourself, Lara shuts out everything when she gets upset. It just wouldn;t be a stable relationship. So... I guess I just take my chances when I can. Anyway, what about you? You looked pretty riled when you worked out the riddle." Bryce shrugged and closed his eyes, nonplussed, and was about to answer, when suddenly the mobile unit went into pitch darkness. "Bugger, the power's gone on the blink!" he cursed, and stood up to try and leave, ending up in a heap on the floor as he tripped over something. "Blimey... what the hell'd I trip on?" He staggered to his feet and picked up the object he had tripped over. Alex opened the door and squinted slightly into the sunlight. "Bloody hell..." He was holding thin air. "I'll get Lara," Alex blurted. Bryce sat down on the step of the mobile unit and put down whatever he was carrying on the sludgy ground. "Bloody hell, Bryce!" Lara knelt down in front of Bryce and traced over what appeared to be nothing. "And you can't see anything at all? You mean to say that the Key was in the mobile unit all along?" The Key appeared to be a stone tablet, several inches thick, and covered in ancient inscriptions and pictograms. "What's on it?" Alex asked dubiously, resting a hand on Lara's shoulder. "I don't know, I can't read any of it... but there's one character which appears to be repeated... hm..." She traced it out in the snow - it looked a little like a bird without wings. "God damnit, if only the power wasn't off, I could look at those files and see if there was a translation or something... bugger." Alex suddenly had a spark of inspiration. "What about the snow-bikes? Why not use the engines to power one of the computers?" Bryce grinned slyly and stretched his fingers, making them click slightly. "Alex West, that's the best idea you've ever had."  
  
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What can I say? I wuv Bryce! Plus it's balancing out hurting him ^_^ And... I really need to get the story fillage done so I can get the action properly started... hehe, expect lotsa puzzles, some Lara/Alex action, a face-off between Squires and Bryce over a particularly tetchy subject, and the return of a friend... all heaven and hell's gonna break loose! Muha! 


	5. Gate of the Sky Gods

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - 'The Empire of the Amon'  
  
Author's Note: No more fillage, kids! Time to start the gun-slingin' tight- topped action!  
Chapter Five: The Gate of the Sky Gods  
"Warrior of Light." He spun back round to face the young woman and the man. "So... the tablet talks about a Warrior of Light a lot... anything else?" Lara leanded over the swivel chair and looked at the character map. "Yes... that one, there-" she pointed to a little symbol in the top left corner. "Okay... redemption..." Bryce scoured the desk for a piece of paper and the click-pen. "Hm... okay... so... we have something about a warrior of light, and redemption... anything else?" Lara nodded. "Those two." Flicking back and forth through windows, the dark haired young man slowly translated the characters. "Souls... redemption of souls... knowledge... and... sky? Sky... gods!" He ran a hand through his hair, the screen occassionally blinking. "Bugger... okay... All souls of pure Amon will be redeemed by our guardian, the warrior of light. Only she the warrior of light can open our gates and free our shackles of darkness. The Gate of the Sky Gods can be unlocked only by the warrior of light... this Gate can be found with our fateful key between the-" His words were fatally silenced by the power cutting off again. "West!" he yelled, hitting the hard drive angrily. "That's the last engine, there's nothing else left, they were all low on gas anyway!" Bryce smashed in the keyboard and sighed hopelessly. "This is so stupid!" he growled, his eyes aching from the dim light. "Well, at least we know a little more. I'm guessing the tablet is some kind of prophecy or legend. But where is this acclaimed Gate? The Key says that it can be found by the Warrior of Light, which is me, I suppose, using the Key. But what use will this thing be?" She picked it up and took it outside, sitting on the step with it on her lap. "We might as well start searching before it gets any darker. Do any of these bikes still work?" She figured they wouldn't, and then she remembered where Bryce left the chrome monstrosity a little further up in the clearing, and so she ran off, carrying the tablet under one arm. "Go after her, then!" Alex blinked a few times stupidly. "Oh, right!"  
  
After about half an hour, it was already getting dark and cold, and the bike was beginning to lag from carrying three fully grown people and a stone slab. "Damnit... come on, come on... just a bit further, don't pack in yet," Bryce prayed as he steered the sluggish snow-bike through the drifts. Alas, the thing eventually gave up and left them stranded in the middle of the Russian wastes. "Looks like we're on foot from here on," Lara commented, with a 'shit happens, get over it' shrug. She held the slab in front of her and walked in front of the two men. "Well... I can see why the Key comes in useful... can't you feel it?" The two men looked utterly lost. "More... tuned in, if you know what I mean. I think we're getting closer." Suddenly, the ground began to shake, scattering snow and ice everywhere. "Get down!" Alex shouted over the clamour. After a few minutes, the shaking stopped, and they opened their eyes, wiping the snow and sludge from their faces. "Blimey." Alex was speechless, but Lara got that glint of adventure in her eyes. A gigantic stone arch stood in front of them. Lara reached out to go through the arch, but was thrown back almost instantly, about ten feet, still clutching the tablet Key. "Ouch... okay, so now I understand why they made the Key," she mumbled, holding her stomach. "Ah, Lady Croft!" Alex winced at the malicious outcry from behind. "Squires." The fat man laughed shrilly as he walked up to the arch. Bryce was secretly hoping he'd walk into it and get blasted back. Hm, well, it puts the term 'getting off your arse' into proportion, he thought to himself. However, he stopped just before. "Place the Key, Lara..." The young woman closed her eyes, took a deep breath and picked up the tablet again. "Lara, what are you doing?" Alex hissed. She looked over her shoulder and stared at him with deep, sad eyes that pierced his very soul. "Lara!" It was too late. She had put the Key in the arch. The Gate was open. On the other side of the archway, massive structures apeared out of nowhere, made of a cold blue stone, and very similar to how historians imagined the Aztec temples to be in their time. Every now and then, there were gigantic stone idols, mostly taking the form of a wolf-like beast. "Hraka-Amon, the temple city," scoffed Squires proudly, and marched through the arch. "Now, to take my prize, the ultimate weapon... omniscient knowledge..."  
  
Lara stared fiercely at the back of Squires' podgy head for a few seconds, and then tore past him so she was in a small courtway. Bryce and Alex looked at each other for a second, and then followed her. Squires walked up to the nearest temple and looked inside for a short moment, before coming back down. "I'll find it. I'll find the power of the Sky Gods, and I'll find it before you," she whispered, scowling. "Ha! And how do you expect to do that, Croft? You know nothing of this city! You don't have a clue about the traps! By God, you can't even read the texts!" Alex's temper was rising. "Take that back, Squires. We're going to kick your ass so bad-" Bryce pulled the blonde back by his arm. "Oi, calm down, mate." He turned to Squires and gave him an icy glare. "Lara may not, but I can. And anyway, these two are professional tomb raiders, I'd like to see you manoeuvre your fat arse through a weight-triggered spike chamber!" he spat, arms folded. Suddenly, one of Squires' bodyguards came up behind Bryce and winded him. Lara winced, gritting her teeth. "For God's sake, Bryce, how many times do I have to tell you?" He smiled painfully as Alex helped him up. Suddenly, Squires and his men ran off into the mazelike temple city. "Alex... come on. We've got to find... whatever we're meant to be finding." The blonde nodded. "Hey, I forgot I had these!" The two tomb raiders looked behind them to see that Bryce was holding three minute head-sets. "Three-way communicator. Bloody brilliant invention!"  
  
"Where do we look first?" Alex stared up at the idol heads looking down over the temples. "Well, from what I researched before I came, the place is like a giant puzzle. Deactivate all the traps in the shrines, and you unlock the main temple." Lara nodded, surveying the area around. "Sounds easy enough... I'll take the left hand side." Alex nodded and ran up to the closest shrine on the right. "Okay... panels... always good," Lara muttered to herself, hands on hips, as she looked at the floor puzzle in front of her. The room was quite long, and there were tiles in rows of four, all with different patterns on them. On the other side of the room, there was a locked grille gate. On the right wall, there appeared to be instructions. Lara stepped on a tile with a snake on it to see what happened, when suddenly, a neat slab of spikes came down on her, barely missing her as she darted back. "Obviously not the right tile." The next tile along had the image of a rabbit, and when Lara stepped on it, nothing happened. On the next row, there was a fox-like creature, some kind of bovine animal, a chicken and a pig. "Ah... I see now." She stepped on the 'fox' tablet, and nothing happened. Eventually, she got to the end, where the tiles appeared to have clouds on them, and they were all the same. She trod on the one in front of her, and the grille gate creaked up. "If it's going to be like this for all of them..." She walked through, and ended up on the other side of the building. She could see Squires and his bodyguards stumbling about in the top left corner of the temple city. "It's going to be a long night..."  
Well, it's a start! I'll probably skip most of the mini-templing, as it's really only the main temple that counts for much... most of the action takes place there ;) 


	6. The Bridge of Wheels

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - 'The Empire of the Amon'  
  
Author's Note: Excuse the huge emphasis on Bryce, but he IS a very imporant character... anyway, not too long until we get to the really good stuff!  
Chapter Six: The Bridge of Wheels  
"Lara, I've completed my side, are you done yet?" The dank reception made Alex's voice a little indeterminable at first. "Not yet, this is the last one... Squires and his cronies have completed all the tasks, the bastards. They're just waiting for us now." She looked at the room. It was wide as it was long, and apart from two ledges either side, there was a drop so low, Lara couldn't see the bottom, but she could imagine the fall as being painful, if not fatal. "Bryce, this is Lara, can you hear me?" There was a pause. "Lara? What you stuck on?" She looked around. "Looks like I'm in a pit room. There are four wheels... cams or cranks or something, I think... I don't quite know what they turn though. I'll have a look." She turned the one closest to the door, and it began to move a roped panel about halfway across the pit. "Ah.. the wheels turn pieces of a bridge... on the other side, there looks like another tablet..." Another pause. "Okay, you'll need me and Alex to help you. Hang on a minute." Lara waited patiently for about seven minutes, when eventually Alex and Bryce wandered into the room. "Blimey... looks... deep." Alex folded his arms and looked around. "Right... Lara... when I say, just jump onto the panels. Alex, you're in charge of turning the wheels... okay, let's go." Alex turned the second wheel along to see what it did, and it moved the first panel across. "By the looks of things," Lara said as she held onto the ropes, "they continue moving... the wheels must turn both ways." Alex wasn't really paying attention, and the panel was starting to go towards one of the walls, which suddenly set alight. "ALEX!"  
  
He jumped and turned the wheel the other way as quickly as he could. "Let's try again," she called impatiently. "Okay, keep the first one centred for a bit... now turn... the fourth one, it probably is..." West turned the fourth wheel to the left, which brought the third panel to the right. "Bugger... okay, try the third wheel." The second panel moved into motion, but Lara was verging towards the fire brick again, so Alex had to sprawl across the wall to move both wheels, and moments later, Lara walked effortlessly to the next panel. "You can stop turning the second wheel now, keep focused on the third and fourth ones." Alex dashed constantly between the two wheels; there was a surprisingly wide gap between the wheels. "Great... okay... try the first one again, I'll take control of the fourth one." Alex ran back down to the first one and Bryce began to turn the fourth wheel in the opposite direction, when it suddenly spun round, nearly knocking him over, and Lara off. "Bloody hell!" he squarked, holding onto the wheel turner with both hands. "Bryce!" Lara yelled, trying to keep her balance on the madly wobbling panel. "Lara, the rope!" Alex instructed from the door. Lara looked up and saw a rope dangling just above the panels. "Right!" She jumped up and swung across to the other side, where there was a very small, very light tablet. Alex and Bryce sighed with relief, but forgot about the panels, which all spun madly into the walls, setting alight. "Bugger."  
  
"Swing across and I'll catch you," Alex yelled across the room. Lara was reluctant to move at first. "What are you worried about? I'll catch you!" Bryce stepped out of the way and into the doorway. "Are you sure you'll catch her?" he asked under his breath. "Nope, not really," Alex replied. "Come on, what are you waiting for? Squires is gonna get into the Main Temple any minute now!" Lara sighed. He's right. I've already got too far into this, I've got to get us all out now. I guess I have to trust Alex. I can't keep pushing him away, she thought. She put the tablet in her belt, took hold of the rope, and with a deep breath swung across, lifting her legs up as high as she could. Whe she got as far as she thought she could, she let go, and no doubts about it, Alex caught her. He caught her so well they ended up in a pile of human limbs on the floor by the door. "The tablet!" Lara cried as the tiny stone tile teetered on the ledge. "I've got it!" Bryce squealed back, only to trip over Alex and Lara, which knocked the tablet off completely, but for once his split-second gaming reflexes came in handy as he snatched the tablet in mid air. "Blimey," he squeaked. "Bryce?" The dark haired young man, still smiling like an idiot, very satisfied with his work, replied 'Yes?' sugarly. "Get off!" the two raiders yelled in unison.  
  
Alex opened his eyes properly to find himself bare inches away from Lara's face. "Lara..." She looked down at him, his love-crazy, love-desperate eyes begging for a second chance with her. "No... we can't... not now..." she whispered, her short but sharp nails digging into his chest through his shirt. She got up off him and sighed. "Sorry, Alex." Bryce figured it best not to say anythign regarding the present situation, so simply said, "I think we should be heading to the main temple." There, neutral enough. Neutral thoughts. Always good. Oh, shut up, he bickered with his conscience again, you know you wanted to be Alex just then. He was broken out of his little mental argument by Lara tapping his on the shoulder. "Are you coming?" He shook his head slightly, snapping out of his jealous daze, and nodding in reply. Outside, Squires was standing at the foot of the main temple. "The Tile!" he screamed, "get the Tile off Croft!" The three exchanged glances, and then ran towards the temple. The bodyguards both ran after Lara, even though the Tile from the shrine they had just been in was still in Bryce's pocket. Suddenly, out of noweherem half a dozen choppers appeared, and about thirty tightly-clad shadows slid down thin cables. They were surrounded. "Hand over the tile, Lara..." Squires taunted. "Bugger... we're doomed, we're doomed," Bryce whimpered, silently praying for some kind of miracle. "Lara... just in case we don't get out of this alive," Alex mumbled, reaching for her hand, "you know that I love you, I'll always love you, god damnit, but... do you love me?" Lara opened her mouth, but her throat went dry. Unsurpassed by the events around her, this was the first time she'd felt queasy in... too long for her to remember. "Lara, please, answer me," he pleaded, holding her hand tighter. Her eyes were burning with tears just waiting to fall, when suddenly, there was a loud 'clunk' from the archway. "Bloody hell... there is a God!" Bryce muttered, staring out towards the court. "Master Bryce!" a familiar voice called from far away. "I presume you may want to use this!" The three raiders, and the dark figured all looked in the direction of the courtway. Hillary - and S.I.M.O.N.! "It's showtime, mates!"  
  
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Oh yay. Tha fun has just started, man! 


	7. The Last Stand of SIMON

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - 'Empire of the Amon'  
  
Author's Note: Sadly, this'll probably be the last we'll see of Bryce for a short while... the title was 'Lara Croft' believe it or not *grin*  
  
Chapter Seven: The Last Stand of S.I.M.O.N.  
Lara clung to the front of Alex's shirt and tried to speak. "A-Alex....." Suddenly, there was a wild blast from behind them. The dozen or so shadow- figures had stop circling them and were now heading over to Hillary and S.I.M.O.N, the monstrous killing machine which Bryce had created for Lara's training. "God, I hate killing people," Bryce muttered under his breath, as Hillary handed him the remote controls to S.I.M.O.N. Alex looked down at the other tomb raider and put his arms round her waist. "Come on... we'd better get out of here." Bryce stood amidst the fray-to-be and tapped the side of his headset gently. "Bryce to S.I.M.O.N, activate mobile controls." The robot leapt into life, making Squire's dark-clothed grunts and Hillary scatter slightly. "Alarm mode... online," he mumbled regretfully, then dived for cover behind a set of stairs as an onslaught ensued. Every now and then he'd look up, narrowly missing a stray limb coming at his at 50 miles an hour. "What... what the hell? S.I.M.O.N, abort!" Bryce yelled into his headset, but the android would not stop. What would it take to stop it? Ah, one thing, but Lara said not to do anything stupid. But this time she could get killed. He's in hyper attack mode, there's not much that can stop him, definately not Lara, he though, the angry clanking noises advancing as S.I.M.O.N. went into heat-seek. Suddenly, the shadow above him changed shape as he was face-to-face with a mouth of disamon circular saws. Bryce flipped onto his back and tried to crawl away slowly, still clutching the remote controls tightly with one hand. "Sorry, mate," he sighed, and went to press the 'System Complete Shutdown' key, but suddenly, the robot was leapt on by a couple of ten foot tall stone idols. "Ka'uba Amon lur-urzet," Squires chanted like a fat parrot at the steps of the Great Temple. "Bugger," Bryce hissed in panic as the stone warriors tackled his creation to the ground, breaking off limb after limb, making it weak and defenceless. "YOU BA-" Lara and Alex ran out to see what was going on. There was a lot of loud clanking and mechanical squealing and the crunch of metal on stone as S.I.M.O.N. was trying his best to fight back, and failing. Eventually, one of the idols put a marble fist through the head shell of the android, which fizzed and then fell to the ground, and the two idols walked back to their positons outside one of the shrines and turned back to solid, unmoving stone.  
  
"Bryce, don't do anything stupid!" Lara yelled across to her friend, who looked like his dog had just been shot. Amassed in the blood and steaming snow and cracked rubble, the pile of still-buzzing metal was littered around, some parts alight, keys and chips scattered in the sludge of the battle. "You... you..." Bryce fell to his knees, hands resting on the battered head shell. "YOU KILLED MY ROBOT!" he screamed, eyes burning with rage, burning into Squires' skull. "YOU BLOODY IDIOT! YOU KILLED MY BLOODY ROBOT!" Squired went to run away but Alex caught him by the scruff of his podgy neck. Bryce took up one of S.I.M.O.N's broken limbs, a circular saw arm, and advanced to Squires, holding it above his head like an axe. "Bryce!" Lara cried, and Alex let go of Squires and forcefully pulled the arm from Bryce's alarmingly tight grip. "God damnit, you stupid American bugger, let go!" he snapped, trying to take the arm back, but failing as Lara held him back by his shoulders, as he was still intent on destroying the fat man. "Whoa, cool it," Alex commanded, throwing the arm behind him, Bryce's eyes still blazing with fury. "That little... he's going to Hell for that... I'll kill him if it's the last thing I do," he spat, still staring maliciously at Squires. "Hillary... take Bryce back home," Lara insisted coolly, releasing the young man. The butler nodded dutifully and pulled Bryce through the mess that was once his pride and joy. Suddenly, Alex pulled Lara back round gently and pointed to the Great Temple. "We can't do anything about his robot, but we can still save the world or whatever, right?" Lara smiled weakly, and went to walk forwards, but found that there was an object on the floor. "The Tile?" Alex took a proper look at the top of the steps; Squires was waiting for them. "He still can't get in without the Tile. I'm surprised he didn't notice it before." Lara picked up the Tile and walked towards the man attraction, stil holding Alex's hand. "I'll take your silence as a sign of rejection, then," he mused greyly. "No. Alex, I don't know. I'll never be able to know. And I don't want you hanging around waiting for an asnwer when I just can't give you one. When I can say for sure, you'll be first to know. But... I could use your help, just a little bit longer, don't you think?" He stifled a laugh as they reached the foot of the Temple. "You ready for this, Lara?" She smiled slyly. "I was born ready."  
  
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Heehee! It's short, I know... I can't help but stall :P Oh well. Action and PROPER Lara/Alex stuff coming soon, promise! 


	8. The Test of Purity

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - 'The Empire of the Amon'  
  
Chapter Eight: The Test of Purity  
  
"Ah, Lara-" Before Squires could speak again, she rammed the Tile into its holder and sped past, Alex in tow. "Gah!" However, they were halted when about six human-sized idols stood in front of them, all holding..... fire spears. "Sure could use that robot right now," Alex muttered. "Time for a little firing practice, Alex!" Lara laughed, like a schoolgirl playing a game. She took out the handguns from her holsters and threw one at Alex. "Ready... go!" She leapt up against the wall and shot one as she flipped over in mid air, which simulataneously crushed one between hers and one which Alex had just shot. "Three down!" she chirped, landing on the pile of rubble. "Get a sense of déja vu, don't you?" she called to Alex, who was busy filling an idol full of lead. "Cambodia '01, I remember it well!" She raised an eyebrow as she dodged a blast of fire. "You would, West - hm, just remember you owe me." So very true, she thought, suddenly noticing Squires trying to sneak past. I gave up my only chance to save what little family I had to save you. "Hey, stop right there, mister!" Alex barked over the flames, and picked up one of the flamethrower staffs from the death cairn, torching what little hair Squires had left. "Enough's enough, Squires. Time to take you out of commission."  
  
The rooms were surprisingly all empty after that. They followed Squires higher and higher, until they reached the very top of the temple, which overlooked the entire city. Squires was grinning broadly. "My empire... my power... I did all this... it will all be mine now!" he cackled, "and I even have the Warrior! The Warrior of Light! She will get the Blade of Knowledge for me! It is PERFECT!" Alex and Lara looked at each other puzzled. "Must be like that Chinese knife... the Blade of Immortality..." The now bald fat man laughed. "Very clever, very clever," he continued. "Now! Through the door with you! Or I'll simply get every idol in this place to come and kill your little friend." Alex and Lara stared at each other deeply. "Time is ticking, Lady Lara!" he roared like a very drunk yob. "Lara, don't do anything stupid-" His sentence was finished by her lips meeting his. She reached for the back of his head and tugged gently at his hair, before breaking away, half breathless. "You're not going to die this time," she whispered, still staring right into his eyes, right into his soul. "I promise." And with that, she ran through the door behind her. "Lara!"  
  
The room was small and dark, and at the back, centered by a pale glow, there was a knife on a stone podium. "There has to be a catch to this," she muttered to herself. She stepped forwards and found herself feeling surrounded, claustrophobic. People, places, everything rushing past her at once. Her father, when she was a child, when she used the Triangle of Light - and her mother, tall, pale and beautiful, so much like herself she didn't recognise her until she called her name. "Lara darling... you've grown, grown so much, my little angel..." Angkor Wat felt like nothing as everything tried to drown her out. No, no, I'm stronger, much stronger, the past won't take me out. I must take the knife. For Alex, she thought, over and over as she reached out for the knife, which felt like pure fire and coldest ice as she took it from the podium, trying to focus as hard as she could. "My little angel..." The words burned in her head, over and over. No, I won't fall, I won't fall, I- Flashes of light and then darkness. She had completed the task. Stumbling back through into the light, she fell to her knees, clutching the knife tightly to her chest. "Well, we were starting to wonder whether you'd ever make it out, my dear," Squires extolled cruelly. "What?" Lara didn;t understand - she'd only been in there a minute or so, right? "Lara, you were gone for hours, I thought..." He knelt down and put his arm round her shoulders. "Now. The knife, Lara. It's your only weapon, use it. You know you want to." She looked up, eyes blank.  
  
"Why, you know that the only way that the knife will work, the way to grant all knowledge, is to kill me with it. Then my soul will rise, and I'll possess all souls and power of the Uzubek!" He cackled with glee. "And I know you'll find the energy to kill me. It's in every Illuminated One's blood." Lara glared up coldly. "Why, of course. It's natural for a daughter of one of the highest Illuminati to want to kill. It was such an intriguing story, that young Manfred Powell was quite the bard of you, Lara. No matter how you try to run from it, you'll always have that terrible mark, deep under your skin, engraved in your soul." He tore the arm off his bulging shirt and revealed a flabby arm, with a simple, single tattoo at the shoulder joint - the Mason's Cross, surrounding the All-Seeing Eye. "You bastard," Lara hissed, clutching the knife tighter. "Lara... keep calm," Alex whispered, holding the hand with the knife firmly. "Yes, yes, for a short while I had no idea it was you who was the only descendent of the Lord Master Croft, though I was blind not to have guessed. Legendary Lara and her trophy hero boyfriend at my knees. Just another thrill of the job. With this new power, Solaris will rule the world!" The young woman stood up and stared right into Squires' piglike blue eyes. Suddenly, he took hold of her wrists and went to plunge the knife in, but was interrupted by a yell from down on the ground. "FINISH HIM!"  
  
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Yep, more Bryce action ;) 


	9. Dismissal and Recovery

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - 'The Empire of the Amon'  
  
Author's Note: we're coming to the end now... oh well... que sera sera.  
Chapter Nine: Dismissal and Recovery  
"Lara!" Bryce was standing at the foot of the temple, holding a particularly large handgun up at Squires. Not even I could miss his fat arse, he thought to himself grimly. "Bryce, what the hell are you doing?" she shouted back. She knew what Squires was going to do; take the opportunity to pull the knife right into him. Suddenly, she pulled away and stared at the dark haired techie boy on the floor. That's all he is, she thought sadly. He's just a little boy with the mind of a genius, lost in his own world to protect himself from everything else. I saw it - when S.I.M.O.N. was destroyed it was like Squires had just killed a relative... no time to dwell. I'm sorry, Bryce, but it's for the best. Forgive me, I beg of you. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, tears in her eyes, and in a split second, she threw the knife down, and it landed deep in Bryce's chest, making him fall to the ground no more than five seconds later. "WHAT?!" Squires was furious. "Kill him, Alex." The blonde nodded at the tearful young woman who sat in a heap on the edge of the roof. "You got it, Lara." He held the podgy man up to the nozzle of the gun and shot him, pushing him through the door at the same time. "You... cow!"  
  
Lara was at the ground before anyone or anything could stop her. "Bryce... you're still..." He tried to sat up, smiling bravely and wincing in dire pain at the same time. "I... I thought you... t-told me... not t-to... play... the... hero," he stuttered, breathing heavily. Lara put a finger to her lips and stroked his mess of dark hair. "You have to rest." Alex crouched down the other side of him. "How come... he's not, like, all glowy and wise?" he asked, dialling an ambulance on Bryce's mobile phone. "He has rejected the spirits." Alex stopped dialling and looked up, as did Lara. "Who are you?" she asked politely. He was tall and bald and very thin, and wore long navy robes. "I am Kimodi, a Priest which your friend could have unwillingly bore. Because of this, he will not be killed, neither will he host our knowledge." Lara nodded and turned back to the bleeding man in her arms. "That's okay, then... anyway, I don't think I could stand you being any cleverer." He cocked a glance at her and tried to laugh, but just ended up squealing in pain. "Bugger..." he mumbled, trying his hardest to keep his eyes open. Alex wandered off, trying to get a slightly better reception. "Bryce, sometimes I wonder why the hell you let yourself get into things like this, you know. You're mad. But you're brilliant. Thank you..." He looked up at the wise man in front of him for a moment. "Bryce... do you forgive me?" He closed an eye as he gently poked the delicate skin around the knife. "Course I do... four years, is it? And... you've... never ins..instisted that... I get rid of... my caravan."  
  
Minutes later, and three ambulance choppers hovered over what appeared only to be Russian wasteland. "Good luck, Warrior. Maybe peace be with you and the ones you love..." Looking around her, everything was gone. "Blimey... that... was fast..." Lara turned back to Bryce and squeezed his hand gently. "I'll see you soon. Just don't wake up on the operating table complaining about the surgeon's choice of music or anything," she said calmly, and let the paramedics take control. Alex came back to Lara's side and helped her into one of other choppers. "You're beautiful when you're angry," he uttered, kissing the back of her neck softly. She smiled, eyebrows raised, and took hold of his hands. "It's all over, Alex... we got through it. Just like last time." She rested her head on his shoulder. "At least this time I was completely conscious when you kissed me." Lara put a hand to his chest and looked into his eyes. "You know, Alex, I think I'm coming towards giving you answer." He looked a little dubious. "It's always been difficult between us. And it's never easy for us to have anything, what with us going our seperate way constantly. So many complications." His grim neutral smile began to turn into a disappointing smirk. "But... against the odds... Alex, I love you, I do."  
  
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So much for Alex/Lara action ;) I'm not that much of a mushy-wuv person, really though- OH MY GOD IT'S NOAH TAYLOR *melts into a puddle on the floor*- ahem! One last chapter, and then The Empire's done... hope you've enjoyed it! 


	10. Happy Endings and New Beginnings

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - 'The Empire of the Amon'  
  
Author's Note: This is it! The last chapter! Wow!  
Chapter Ten: Happy Endings and New Beginnings  
"Well, I have to admit, Bryce, that was... exhausting, to say the least."  
  
"But it was good, right?"  
  
"Excellent..."  
  
"You're a man of many talents."  
  
"Blimey, Lara, if West knew about this, you'd be in so much trouble!"  
  
"Me? You're the one who came up with the idea in the first place!"  
  
"But... you're not going to leave it at that, though, are you? I'll feel all reclusive and negl-ow!" Lara elbowed him in the back gently to stop him rambling. "Bryce, I think you've finally created an indestructible killing machine. Congratulations." The dark haired young man patted the chrome android on the head. "Well, I had to get over S.I.M.O.N. eventually. So I built a new one, makes sense! Anyway, you need a new training partner. Meet Simulated Hazard Intellibot Two, or S.H-"  
  
"Yes, thank you, Bryce!" Hillary appeared round the corner, halting the madness which would be sure to ensue in the conversation continued. "Mister Alex West on the telephone, Lara." The young woman smiled and wandered out to the phone. "Alex... good morning."  
  
"Lara-"  
  
"Ah, before you start speaking again, I'm putting the phone down straight away if you're trying to lure me into finding some random ancient weapon." Silence for a short while and then, "no, I just called to say I love you, but while we're on the subject of potentially life-threatening-"  
  
"Alex..."  
  
"Alright, alright. How's Bryce recovered?"  
  
"Too well - he's already-" Bryce was shaking his head furiously through the glass wall. "- back on his feet and playing tenuously loud music at ungodly hours of the morning. Oh, and I love you too."  
  
"Okay, well, I gotta go, this scary old rich guy wants me to get some weird amulet from God-knows-where... call you when I get back!"  
  
"Bye, Alex." Bryce and Hillary looked at each other and shrugged. "Women... why can't they be like robots? Predictable?"  
  
"You're asking the wrong man, Hillary."  
  
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Fweeee! And that's a wrap! Muha... *steals Bryce and runs away to a far off island*... *steals Hillary 'cause she's also very lazy* 


End file.
